In 1878 yellow fever was thought to be caused by bad air
in hot and humid lowland areas. It would be another years before a Cuban physician,
C. J. Finlay, suggested that mosquitoes carried the disease, and another twenty-two
years before Walter Reed proved him correct. Most residents of Holly Springs were
so sure of the safety provided by the area’s high altitude that the town refused
to turn away refugees from infected areas. It was an act of kindness for which
they were to pay very dearly. The newspaper articles reproduced below appeared
on interior pages of the paper and reflect the generally high spirits and confidence
of the citizenry before the awful truth hit home. No mention of the epidemic appeared
on the front page.This courthouse served as a hospital during the epidemic

YELLOW FEVER IN HOLLY SPRINGS

In 1878 yellow fever was thought to be caused
by bad air in hot and humid lowland areas. It would be another three years before
a Cuban physician, C. J. Finlay, suggested that mosquitoes carried the disease,
and another twenty-two years before Walter Reed proved him correct. Most residents
of Holly Springs were so sure of the safety provided by the area's high altitude
that the town refused to turn away refugees from infected areas. It was an act
of kindness for which they were to pay very dearly. The newspaper articles reproduced
below appeared on interior pages of the paper and reflect the generally high
spirits and confidence of the citizenry before the awful truth hit home. No
mentionof the epidemic appeared on the front page.